Bishop’s Death Prompts Calls for Democracy

The death of an outspoken Anglican bishop has served as a rallying point for critics of the Kenyan government and fueled calls for a multiparty government in that East-African nation. Alexander ’Muge, bishop of the Eldoret diocese of the Church of the Province of Kenya (CPK), was killed August 14 in a car crash (CT, Sept. 24, 1990, p. 52). Two days earlier, Peter Okondo, Kenya’s minister of labor, had threatened ’Muge, a frequent critic of the government, with death if he entered the Busia district in western Kenya. In defiance of the threat, ’Muge and 17 supporters traveled to the area, near the Kenya/Uganda border. While driving out of the area, ’Muge’s car was struck nearly head-on by a truck, and the 42-year-old bishop was killed.

Several days later, Okondo resigned from office. Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi praised ’Muge as a “devoted son of the country,” but failed to condemn Okondo’s threat. And though an official investigation into the crash has been promised, many Kenyans believe ’Muge’s death was planned by the government.

Thousands attended the memorial service for ’Muge held eight days after his death. Because of an official ceremony commemorating the death of the first president of the country, Jomo Kenyatta, neither Moi nor any of his cabinet members attended the funeral. The crowd used the occasion to voice its discontent with Moi’s government, which some called a “dictatorship,” and to show its approval of government critics.

For several years, church and state have been on a collision course, say observers in Kenya. Churches have become one of the few public venues of criticism for the Kenyan government, which has occasionally detained opponents and banned critical publications. The CPK is the third-largest church body in Kenya (following the Roman Catholic and Africa Inland churches), but has been the most outspoken in its criticism of Moi’s one-party government. Tribal rivalries and high unemployment add to the Kenyan ferment.

Some observers fear that religious freedoms, which remain unrestricted by law, will suffer as the government attempts to squelch dissent. Moi is a professing Christian, and has maintained cordial relationships with Western missions groups. But the country’s military chief of staff is Muslim, and many Christians express concern over the growing influence of Islam in the country. Given Moi’s resistance to reform, they worry that the military may be called in to keep order. “We [Christians] have everthing to lose if the military takes over,” said one pastor.

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